Michael Francis Thibault (born September 28, 1950) is an American former basketball head coach and current basketball general manager. He coached the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA,[1] and the Washington Mystics.[2] In 2013, Thibault became the all-time WNBA leader with his 212th head-coaching victory.[3]
_(cropped).jpg) Thibault in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 28, 1950 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Saint Martin's | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | General manager | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1980–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1982 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1986 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Calgary 88's | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1997 | Omaha Racers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2012 | Connecticut Sun | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2022 | Washington Mystics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
As head coach:
As assistant coach:
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Medals
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Career
editUpon his graduation from Saint Martin's University in 1979, Thibault entered into the employ of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, for whom he worked first as a scout and, after 1980, as director of scouting and as an assistant coach; during Thibault's tenure, the Lakers twice won the league championship.
Thibault left the Lakers for the Chicago Bulls in 1982 and remained with the latter organization through the 1985-86 season, serving as an assistant coach and director of scouting; under Thibault, the team drafted shooting guard Michael Jordan and power forward Charles Oakley and acquired John Paxson, each of whom would contribute to the Bulls' earning six league championships between 1991 and 1999.
Thibault left the NBA for the World Basketball League in 1988 and served for two seasons as the head coach and franchise general manager for the Calgary 88's, winning the league's coach of the year award in 1988.
In 1989, Thibault began an eight-year stint as general manager and head coach of the Omaha Racers of the Continental Basketball Association, in which capacity he led the team to the league playoffs in each season; his team claimed the 1993 championship and once more reached the league finals one year thence.
Contemporaneously, Thibault worked for USA Basketball as a coach for the United States national team, leading the national side to a gold medal at the 1993 FIBA World Championship qualifying tournament and a silver medal at the 1995 Pan American Games.
Thibault returned to the NBA during the league's 1997-98 season and, through 2003, served as a scout and assistant coach for each of the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Seattle SuperSonics; most prominently, Thibault spent four seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks as an advisor and assistant to George Karl.
Thibault was hired by the Sun in March 2003 to replace Dee Brown; Thibault garnered the WNBA Coach of the Year Award subsequent to the 2006 season, when he led the Sun to the Eastern Conference finals. Thibault would again win the award in 2008 with the Sun.
On December 18, 2012, Thibault was introduced as the new head coach & general manager of the Washington Mystics. He led a revival of the team, getting them to the playoffs and earning a win there for the first time since 2004. For his efforts, Thibault once again earned the Coach of the Year award, joining Van Chancellor as the only coaches to win the award three times.[4][5]
On July 7, 2018, when the Mystics beat the Los Angeles Sparks, Thibault became the first WNBA coach to reach 300 wins.[6]
In 2019, Thibault finally won his first WNBA championship as a head coach. He guided the Mystics to the team's first-ever championship in the 2019 WNBA Finals, as they defeated the Connecticut Sun. After the 2022 season, Thibault retired as head coach of the Mystics but remained general manager. His son, Eric, succeeded him as head coach.[7] Both were relieved of their duties on October 23, 2024, following the WNBA season.[8]
USA Basketball
edit
Thibault served as an assistant coach for the USA National team in 2006, a team in transition. Lisa Leslie, who had led the team in scoring in the 2004 Olympics, the 2002 World Championships, the 2000 Olympics, the 1998 World Championships, and the 1996 Olympics was no longer on the team. Sheryl Swoopes was available but hampered by injuries, with Staley transitioning from player to coach. Newcomers Sue Bird, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi picked up the slack, but it was a team in transition. As an additional challenge, some members of the squad were unable to join the team for practices due to WNBA commitments. The team started out strong, winning each of the six preliminary games, including the game against Russia. In the quarterfinals, the USA team beat Spain 90–56. The semifinal was a rematch against Russia, but this time the Russian team prevailed, 75–68. The USA faced Brazil in the bronze medal game, and won easily 99–59.[9]
Personal
editThibault and his wife, Nanci, have two children. Their son, Eric, succeeded his father as head coach of the Mystics, serving in that role from 2023 to 2024. Their daughter, Carly, was named head coach at Fairfield University on April 11, 2022.[10]
Coaching Record
edit| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON | 2003 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3rd in East | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost in Conference finals |
| CON | 2004 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 1st in East | 8 | 5 | 3 | .625 | Lost in WNBA Finals |
| CON | 2005 | 34 | 26 | 8 | .765 | 1st in East | 8 | 5 | 3 | .625 | Lost in WNBA Finals |
| CON | 2006 | 34 | 26 | 8 | .765 | 1st in East | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Lost in Conference finals |
| CON | 2007 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3rd in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| CON | 2008 | 34 | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2nd in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| CON | 2009 | 34 | 16 | 18 | .471 | 6th in East | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| CON | 2010 | 34 | 17 | 17 | .500 | 5th in East | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| CON | 2011 | 34 | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2nd in East | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| CON | 2012 | 34 | 25 | 9 | .735 | 1st in East | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Lost in Conference finals |
| WAS | 2013 | 34 | 17 | 17 | .500 | 3rd in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| WAS | 2014 | 34 | 16 | 18 | .471 | 3rd in East | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| WAS | 2015 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4th in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
| WAS | 2016 | 34 | 13 | 21 | .382 | 6th in East | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| WAS | 2017 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3rd in East | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in Semifinals |
| WAS | 2018 | 34 | 22 | 12 | .647 | 2nd in East | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | Lost in WNBA Finals |
| WAS | 2019 | 34 | 26 | 8 | .765 | 1st in East | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 | Won WNBA Championship |
| WAS | 2020 | 22 | 9 | 13 | .409 | 3rd in East | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in First round |
| WAS | 2021 | 32 | 12 | 20 | .375 | 4th in East | - | - | - | – | Missed Playoffs |
| WAS | 2022 | 36 | 22 | 14 | .611 | 3rd in East | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in First round |
| Career | 688 | 379 | 289 | .567 | 72 | 34 | 38 | .472 |
References
edit- ^ "SUN: Staffdirectory". www.wnba.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Mike Thibault Named Mystics Head Coach and General Manager". WNBA. December 18, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Thibault is winningest WNBA coach". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ "Mystics' Mike Thibault named WNBA Coach of the Year". USA Today. AP. September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
- ^ Michaelson, Lee (September 21, 2013). "Mystics' Thibault picks up third WNBA Coach-of-the-Year Award". FullCourt.com. Lee Michaelson. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- ^ "Mike Thibault's Career in Photos". wnba.com. WNBA. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ "Former CT Sun coach Mike Thibault's family coaching tradition". www.ctinsider.com.
- ^ "Mystics, Mike Thibault and Eric Thibault Agree to Part Ways". mystics.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ "Fifteenth World Championship for Women -- 2006". USA Basketball. September 12–23, 2006. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
- ^ "Carly Thibault-DuDonis Named Head Coach of Fairfield Women's Basketball". Fairfield University Athletics. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-13.